2010 Florida Statutes

Except as provided in subsection (2) for a general hospital, an application for a certificate of need must contain:

(a)

A detailed description of the proposed project and statement of its purpose and need in relation to the district health plan.

(b)

A statement of the financial resources needed by and available to the applicant to accomplish the proposed project. This statement must include:

1.

A complete listing of all capital projects, including new health facility development projects and health facility acquisitions applied for, pending, approved, or underway in any state at the time of application, regardless of whether or not that state has a certificate-of-need program or a capital expenditure review program pursuant to s. 1122 of the Social Security Act. The agency may, by rule, require less-detailed information from major health care providers. This listing must include the applicant’s actual or proposed financial commitment to those projects and an assessment of their impact on the applicant’s ability to provide the proposed project.

2.

A detailed listing of the needed capital expenditures, including sources of funds.

3.

A detailed financial projection, including a statement of the projected revenue and expenses for the first 2 years of operation after completion of the proposed project. This statement must include a detailed evaluation of the impact of the proposed project on the cost of other services provided by the applicant.

(c)

An audited financial statement of the applicant. In an application submitted by an existing health care facility, health maintenance organization, or hospice, financial condition documentation must include, but need not be limited to, a balance sheet and a profit-and-loss statement of the 2 previous fiscal years’ operation.

(2)

An application for a certificate of need for a general hospital must contain a detailed description of the proposed general hospital project and a statement of its purpose and the needs it will meet. The proposed project’s location, as well as its primary and secondary service areas, must be identified by zip code. Primary service area is defined as the zip codes from which the applicant projects that it will draw 75 percent of its discharges. Secondary service area is defined as the zip codes from which the applicant projects that it will draw its remaining discharges. If, subsequent to issuance of a final order approving the certificate of need, the proposed location of the general hospital changes or the primary service area materially changes, the agency shall revoke the certificate of need. However, if the agency determines that such changes are deemed to enhance access to hospital services in the service district, the agency may permit such changes to occur. A party participating in the administrative hearing regarding the issuance of the certificate of need for a general hospital has standing to participate in any subsequent proceeding regarding the revocation of the certificate of need for a hospital for which the location has changed or for which the primary service area has materially changed. In addition, the application for the certificate of need for a general hospital must include a statement of intent that, if approved by final order of the agency, the applicant shall within 120 days after issuance of the final order or, if there is an appeal of the final order, within 120 days after the issuance of the court’s mandate on appeal, furnish satisfactory proof of the applicant’s financial ability to operate. The agency shall establish documentation requirements, to be completed by each applicant, which show anticipated provider revenues and expenditures, the basis for financing the anticipated cash-flow requirements of the provider, and an applicant’s access to contingency financing. A party participating in the administrative hearing regarding the issuance of the certificate of need for a general hospital may provide written comments concerning the adequacy of the financial information provided, but such party does not have standing to participate in an administrative proceeding regarding proof of the applicant’s financial ability to operate. The agency may require a licensee to provide proof of financial ability to operate at any time if there is evidence of financial instability, including, but not limited to, unpaid expenses necessary for the basic operations of the provider.

(3)

The applicant must certify that it will license and operate the health care facility. For an existing health care facility, the applicant must be the licenseholder of the facility.